The next morning, Mislanda finally woke up.
"Ugh… my head…"
The moment he sat up, a splitting headache hit him, forcing him to lie back down as he clutched his forehead.
"You're awake!"
Hearing movement beside her, Robin immediately stirred, looking over worriedly.
"How do you feel? Does it hurt a lot?"
"I'm fine. Just need a minute to recover."
After a few minutes, the pain eased a little. Mislanda slowly opened his eyes — and froze when he noticed Robin sitting right beside him.
Wait. Why was she sleeping here?
Usually, he shared a cabin with Rayleigh while Robin had her own.
Seeing his confused expression, Robin giggled. "Mr. Rayleigh asked me to stay. He said the house collapsed last night, and if I slept on the ground, I'd catch a cold."
To Rayleigh, it was nothing unusual — just two kids sharing a bed. Mislanda wasn't even ten yet, and Robin was barely eight. There wasn't anything strange about it.
Shaking his head, Mislanda opened his System Panel.
[Name: Silvers Mislanda]
[Power Level: Platinum]
[Abilities: Yami Yami no Mi, Conqueror's Haki]
Seeing his power rank up to Platinum, Mislanda frowned.
Wait—Conqueror's Haki?
It must have been that moment before he fainted — under Rayleigh's immense pressure, a mysterious force had erupted from within him.
So it really was that…
"By the way," Robin asked, tilting her head, "what happened to the house? And why did you faint?"
After two years together, she knew Mislanda well. There was hardly anyone on Ohara strong enough to knock him out.
"It's nothing," he replied casually. "The old man and I were training. Got a little too into it, that's all."
He got up and headed outside. Robin quickly slipped on her shoes and followed.
After a night of hard work, Rayleigh had rebuilt their small cabin.
"Alright," Rayleigh said, hands on his hips, "take it easy for a couple of days. No running around. Once you've rested, I'll start teaching you how to train your Haki properly."
For the next two days, Mislanda and Robin stayed close to home.
Robin even skipped her usual library visits just to take care of him — something that genuinely surprised Mislanda.
After all, Robin was Ohara's youngest scholar. Convincing her to skip the Tree of Knowledge wasn't an easy feat!
"Thanks," Mislanda said, smiling.
"No need to thank me," Robin replied earnestly. "It's the least I can do."
On the third day, the two of them walked down to the coast again.
But as soon as they arrived, Mislanda spotted a massive figure working on a wooden raft.
"That's… Vice Admiral Saul?!"
His eyes widened.
"This is bad."
Without hesitation, Mislanda ran toward the giant.
Saul noticed the approaching boy and blinked in surprise. "Huh? Who are you?"
Seeing the little human, he froze for a second, but quickly turned back to his work — he didn't have time for questions.
"Kid, don't bother me right now! …Wait, do you know which direction Ohara is?"
He'd been adrift for days and hadn't realized where he'd landed.
"If you're building that raft to go to Ohara…" Mislanda said gravely, "then you might want to stop."
"What do you mean?" Saul asked, frowning.
"Because," Mislanda said, his voice steady, "you're already on Ohara."
Saul froze.
Not long ago, he had helped a captured archaeologist escape from the World Government's grasp — that archaeologist being Nico Olvia, Robin's mother.
After hearing her story, Saul had chosen to believe her, rescuing her and fleeing together.
But now—
"What?!" Saul's jaw dropped. "This is Ohara?! What the hell have I been doing these last three days!?"
Without another word, he dropped everything and dashed inland.
He had to warn the scholars — if they didn't evacuate immediately, it would be too late!
Watching Saul's massive figure disappear into the trees, Mislanda's face hardened.
There's not much time left.
The Buster Call was coming — led by Akainu, Aokiji, and three other vice admirals, with entire fleets of warships at their command.
Even for Rayleigh, escaping alone would be difficult — and Mislanda knew the old man would never abandon Ohara to burn.
"Dragon," Mislanda muttered, looking toward the horizon, "I really hope you make it in time."
Then he turned to Robin.
"Go find the old man. Tell him to head to the library immediately!"
Before she could even respond, he dashed after Saul.
With his current strength, as long as Akainu or Aokiji didn't show up, Mislanda could still protect himself.
At the Tree of Knowledge, Olvia had just returned, breathlessly recounting everything that had happened.
Hearing her words, Professor Clover's face darkened.
"The Navy… they're coming for us."
"Professor, what are we waiting for? We need to flee!" one of the scholars urged.
But others shook their heads in silence.
The Tree of Knowledge held the priceless history of humanity. If they fled now, everything they had worked for would be lost to fire and cannon.
"Olvia," Clover said suddenly, "go to the other side of the forest. There's someone living there. If you can convince him to help, we might still have a chance."
Olvia blinked. "Who… who could possibly help us?"
"Don't ask," Clover said softly. "Just go. We'll hold out here as long as we can."
Meanwhile, Mislanda, racing toward the Tree of Knowledge, suddenly halted.
Up ahead stood a group of men in black suits — cold-eyed and expressionless.
Their uniforms were too neat, too formal.
World Government agents.
His gaze shifted to the man leading them — a self-satisfied bureaucrat with slicked-back hair.
Spandine.
A thought flickered through Mislanda's mind.
If he could capture that man and seize the Golden Den Den Mushi, then—
The Buster Call — the government's nation-destroying weapon, a power reserved for admirals — could be stopped before it began.
That golden transponder snail had been handed to Spandine personally by Admiral Sengoku.
If Mislanda could take it… maybe Ohara wouldn't have to burn.
His eyes narrowed.
Let's give it a shot.
He raised his right hand — and a massive black vortex erupted from his palm, engulfing the entire group!
"Wha—what's happening?!" Spandine screamed as he was dragged to the ground by an overwhelming force.
The pull was so strong that he couldn't even lift his head.
All around him, the agents were being dragged inward toward the swirling darkness, their bodies sliding helplessly across the earth.
But the World Government's men weren't ordinary fodder.
Within seconds, three of the stronger agents managed to break free of the pull — and one of them lunged straight at Mislanda.